To Your Success Part 1 "Loneliness"

Inspirational quote for today is: “You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman.” ~ Max Lucado In this series of the Mind, Body, and Soul I’m going to talk about loneliness. Did you know there are many symptoms of loneliness? Some symptoms of loneliness are obvious, and some are more disguised. You see loneliness can be described as a state of not feeling accepted in a group or of not belonging. Also, loneliness may involve emotional pain, an empty feeling on the inside, or restlessness. In addition, loneliness is a very common experience for millions of Americans. This is also the reason for single bars, encounter groups, drug experiences, free sex, and certain Eastern religions that are so popular today in which so many have turned to overcome their loneliness. You see loneliness is also a problem with the elderly, who often escape their loneliness through suicide. However, loneliness strikes everyone from all ages and all classes. Even the great king and leader of God’s people David felt lonely. As David wrote in the book of Psalm “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins”. ~ Psalm 25:16-18 (NASB). In my own personal experiences in dealing with loneliness I had to learn in order to overcome this problem I had to admit that it was a real problem for me. Second, I had to learn how to make choices that can enable me to truly overcome it. Here are a few steps to help you overcome loneliness. Oh by the way, these are steps I’ve used personally to help me with this problem. Overcoming Loneliness Determine why you’re feeling loneliness- There are many causes on why we have lonely feelings, and experiences that make one person lonely, however, may not affect another in the same way. Here are some reasons for loneliness: Being rejected by other people- You may have experienced this type of loneliness because you have been rejected by others-for example, a spouse, friend, business associate, or others. Often this type of rejection is totally unfair. As a result, it hurts and leaves a feeling of loneliness. Lack of affection while we were growing up- In our culture today, people divorce; parents are busy, especially fathers; and children are left lonely. You see children have tremendous dependency needs. If these needs are not met in their youth years, an emotional vacuum is created and may be very difficult to fill. I remember a couple years ago when I was coaching pop Warner football and one of my players was thinking about committing suicide. As I talked with him more about God and giving him the unconditional he needed, he seemed so happy to have my attention, even for a brief period of time. I asked him why he felt so lonely. He told me he had been very lonely because his father was seldom at home. Rejecting others yourself- In some cases people are lonely because they have rejected others. The reason is because fear of rejection, shyness, an inferiority complex, and many other reasons why a person would choose to be lonely rather than reaching out to develop friendships. As a result, an individual may decide to reject others before others have the opportunity to reject them. Isolating ourselves from God- There is definitely a God vacuum in each of us. We may deny it, we may try to fight it, but we can’t fill the lonely void that only Jesus Christ can fill. You see Christians can to some degree experience this isolation from God as a result of breaking fellowship with him through sin. Even people like Adam and Eve, and David experienced that loneliness. Some Christians experience this loneliness as a result of a break in their fellowship with God. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 2 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 6 "Mind, Body, and Soul"

Inspirational quote for today is: "The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence." ~Norman Vincent Peale Overcoming Stress Here are a few steps to help you overcome stress. Oh by the way, these are methods I used personally to help me overcome stress. Here are some examples: 1.)Changing Your Perception through Scriptures- Throughout, my journey in dealing with stress I learned perception is everything when it comes to stress. However, the scriptures were written to alter our perception. Although, it’s possible to be under stress and not yet distressed. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NASB) Here are a couple of common perceptions versus the reality of the Scriptures. 1.) Common Perception: There is no hope for me in the situation I’m in. Reality of the Scriptures: “Behold, I am the lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me?” ~ Jeremiah 32:27 (NASB), “The lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his sovereignty rules over all.” ~ Psalm 103:19 (NASB) 2.) Common Perception: These stressors will never go away. Reality of the Scriptures: “Be gracious to me, O God; be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in you; and in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. ~ Psalm 57:1 (NASB). 2.) You must Develop a Fighting Spirit- Throughout my weight loss journey I had to learn how to develop a fighting spirit or the attitude of “I will beat this thing.” By doing so, I was able to survive the physical and emotional stress. I remember a couple of years ago, one my elders at church to me to always pray to God but make sure I row to shore. In other words, God will help you, but we must do our part and keep fighting. As it states, in the book of Nehemiah “But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.” When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses”. ~ Nehemiah 4:9, and 14 (NASB) Indeed, we must continue to keep fighting. You see God wants us to have a fighting spirit so we are able to combat the effect of the stressors in our life. How much fighting spirit you think you can muster with God’s help? 3.) Learn how to Alter Your Lifestyle- I remember when I use to live a high-stress lifestyle. One thing I learned along the way to changing this lifestyle; and that was altering my lifestyle. By doing so, it helped me alleviate some of my stress. Here are some things you can do to help you alter your lifestyle. 1.) Get a different job, 2.) Go on a vacation, 3.) Move to the country, 4.) Avoid certain individuals, and 5.) Bring an end to some other ongoing stressor. Furthermore, it’s definitely worth making changes in your lifestyle if they mean you will have less stress. Conclusion- You see the world is filled many stressful people and events that can make you feel devastated. Furthermore, stress does not have to defeat you. There are several ways to gain insight to why you are having stress, memorize the scriptures, developing a fighting spirit, and altering your lifestyle. Most importantly, trust Christ to help you relieve a stressful life. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. Stay tuned! I will be presenting a new series about "loneliness" . Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson

To Your Success Part 5 "Mind, Body, and Soul"

Inspirational quote for today is:“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”~ Nelson Mandela Emotional Effects When we deal with stress mentally, most of us develop defense mechanisms. These defense mechanisms can be either good or bad, just like the physical effects of stress can be good or bad. Here are few examples of these defense mechanisms that may be unhealthy. Unhealthy defense mechanisms Denial- This is when an individual refuses to believe that the stressors they’re undergoing are affecting them, even though to others you are depressed, anxious, worried, and having other mental or physical signs of stress. Passive/aggressive- In this defense mechanism you respond to stress in a passive way. For instance, you arrive late for appointments or through other behaviors act passively rather than straightforward. Controlling- You see individuals under stress may deal with it and the insecurity it fosters by becoming controlling to others. Even though, the others may have nothing to do with the immediate stress. Healthy defense mechanisms Anticipation- This is when we look forward to future, happy events, and is a simple healthy defense in times of stress. Laughter- I believe this is a wonderful defense because it releases as much tension as crying and is whole lot more fun. In addition, when women are asked what they enjoy most about a man, good sense of humor is usually very high on the list. You see having good humor releases those endorphins and enkephalins, which are our natural antidepressants. Forgiveness- Did you know bitterness can defile many? I didn’t know this myself until I read the book of Hebrews “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to causes trouble and defile many”. ~ Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) I also learned over the years, through forgiveness we can relieve a tremendous amount of stress. You see apparently we can control whether or not we let go of anger and forgive. As it states in Ephesians, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”. ~ Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV) Furthermore, I believe forgiveness may be one of the greatest defenses against stress. Faith- This defense mechanism of course, is more than a defense; it probably relieves stress better than anything else. The reason is because having faith in Christ, having faith in what he can do, having faith in the veracity of the Scriptures, having faith in God’s promises, and having faith for a wonderful future. Most importantly, faith is what brought us to Christ and faith is what allows us to live a Christian life, even if it is filled with stressors. Confession- One thing I’ve learned about confession; and that is guilt causes unbelievable stress. As it states, in the book of first John “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. ~ 1 John: 9 (NASB) by doing so, it offers relief from any guilt the Christian may be facing. In addition, Christians are also encouraged to confess their sins with one another; this will help promote healing. In the book of James it talks about this information. >“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”. ` James 5:16 (NASB) Spiritual Effects Stress can also affect our spiritual life. Most importantly, it may cause us to lose a sense of the Lord’s presence and caring. For example, Elijah was an extremely godly man; however, under extreme stress Elijah lost his perspective and wanted to die. The reason is because he thought he was the only one left who loved the lord. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 6 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson

To Your Success Part 4 "Mind, Body, and Soul"

Inspirational quote for today is: “Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.” ~ Japanese Proverb One thing I learned over the years about stress, and that is stress can be either good or bad. However, I also learned a little stress sounds an alarm we need to rise to meet a challenge. Also, in the scriptures it seems that stress can be good when there’s a realistic concern -“For I have no one else of kindred spirit who genuinely be concerned for your welfare”. ~ Philippians 2:20, and “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches”. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:28 (NASB), however, it’s not good when it causes unproductive worry and fretting (Philippians 4:6, Luke 8:14, and 1 Peter 5:7) (NASB). You see with a little stress your work productivity goes up, but too much stress can bring it down. It can also put demands on the body or mind- from emotional arousal, humiliation, pain, fatigue, success, failure, fear, and etc. Most importantly, these levels of stress relates to the environment and the person’s interpretation, evaluation, appraisal of meaning, and appraisal of his/her coping ability. There are also three effects of stress we face on a regular basis. They are as follows: 1.) emotional, 2.) physical, and 3.) Spiritual. Physical Effects When stress develops it can affect almost any organ of the body and is a factor in numerous diseases. In my own personal experience in dealing with stress I learned stress can altar our neurotransmitters of the brain with profound influences on the emotions and body. You see when we develop stress the body is either “fight or flight”. As a result, this reaction causes chemical changes that may have implications. In addition, when we encounter stress, we may develop corresponding behavioral changes, such as anger, exercising, drinking, smoking, binge eating, and etc. Furthermore, the nervous system balance is altered and the blood pressure increases (which, for some individuals, may trigger a heart attack), along with other physiological reactions. Moreover, after a stressful occurrence, the blood pressure may not go back down and may result in hypertension and acceleration of atherosclerosis. Also, because stress may alter the hippocampus (which controls our memory), continuation of stress may result in an inability to access information needed to decide that a situation maybe no longer a threat. Finally, stress can alter the neurotransmitters of the brain that controls our mood, logic, sleep, weight, attention, and pain perception. Under the physical implications of stress, there are other, secondary, conditions that people may experience: depression, eating issues, mood swings, obsessive worry, sleep problems, sexual issues, phobias, asthma attacks, high blood pressure, hair loss, outbreaks of skin problems, menstrual disorders, appearing older than age, and etc. Furthermore, these effects of stress vary, depending on what stage is the stress. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 5 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 3 "MInd, Body, and Soul"

Inspirational quote for today is:"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". ~ Wayne Dyer In this part of the Mind, Body, and Soul series I’m going to talk about stress. As you already know, this is one of biggest battlefields of the mind. I have a question for you. What is stress? You see stress is a close cousin to worry and anxiety. In addition, worry and anxiety are used to describe the internal fretting, whereas stress is the external factors causing the worry and anxiety. Overall, stress is a state of physical, mental, or emotional tension caused by these external conditions. I believe these top three stressors we all face in our lives. They are follows: 1.) relationship issues, 2.) financial, job, career issues, and 3.) loss issues. One thing I learned about in our response to stress and that is the way we interpret an event determines how we will respond psychologically, physiologically, behaviorally, and spiritually. For example, what may cause stress for me may not be stressful to another person because of how we use the interpretation or the cognitive appraisal of the events. For me personally when stress occurs I try to remember God’s word. “The lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do for me? ` Psalm 118:6 (NASB); “He shall say to them, hear o Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies to save you.” ~ Deuteronomy 20:3-4 (NASB). In addition, when I read these verses not only do they strengthen me it helps my stress diminished. When my stress seemed out of control, Psalm 91:9-11 (NASB) had a very strong influence on my perception and resulting response: ”For you have made the lord, my refuge, even the most high, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For he will give his angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways”. Furthermore, Psalm 23:4 (NASB) helped me fight the most potentially fearful event with a great perceptive “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Moreover, what is stressful to one (such as possibly approaching death) may not be as stressful to another. The reason is because interpretation makes all of the difference. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 4 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 2 "Mind, Body, and Soul"

Inspirational quote for today is: “When you do what you fear most, then you can do anything.” ~ Stephen Richards In my own journey dealing with anxiety; I learned that anxiety and worry were both attacks on my mind intended to distract me from the serving the Lord. You see I use to allow the enemy to use these torments to press my faith down, so it couldn’t rise up and help me live in victory. This was a huge mistake. In addition, we allow ourselves to have such a problem with worry it can lead to an addiction to worrying. Unfortunately, there are some people who tend to worry so much that if they have something of their own to worry about, they will worry over someone else’s problem. I remember when I was battling these issues that I could never enjoy the peace Jesus died for me to have. One thing I did learn in overcoming these issues and that it’s impossible to worry and live in peace at the same time. The reason is because I had to learn peace isn’t something that was put on me; it is a fruit of the spirit. As it states in Galatians 5:22 “but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and this fruit is the result of abiding Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me”. ~ John 15:4 (NASB) the word “abiding” relates to entering the “rest of God” and this information was spoken about in Chapter 4 of Hebrews as well as other places in the word of God. For example, Jesus gave us his peace in the book of John, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. ~ John 14:27 (NASB) In other words, I had to learn even though peace is present in us; I had to make sure it was chosen over what our fleshly mind thinks. You see we can choose to be peaceful by choosing to think on things that bring peace rather than things that bring on worry and anxiety. I believe the causes of anxiety and worry is many. The reason is because these are attacks from Satan upon the mind. In addition, there certain things we as believers are instructed to do with our minds, and the enemy wants to make sure that they are never done. As a result, the enemy attempts to keep our minds busy enough with wrongful thinking so that the mind never gets around to being used for the purpose which God designed it. In other words, anxiety is a fear of looking at the truth about our own thoughts, feelings, and motives. The Holy Spirit usually pushes the truth up. However, our deprived minds push the truth back down. Moreover, our tensions between the Holy Spirit and our deprived minds are true anxiety. One thing I learned through battling with anxiety is that it can come from a variety of ways. For example, it can come from the following: 1.) Internal, 2.) Behavioral, 3.) Spiritual, 4.) Genetic, 5.) Biological, and 6.) Medical. Here are few steps I’ve used to help me overcome anxiety. 1.) Read the Bible- Here are some scriptures to help you calm your soul: John14:27, Psalm 56:3, Psalm 34:4, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 27:1, 14, Matthew 6:25-34, and Philipians4:6-8 (NASB) I would suggest for you to memorize these scriptures and prey these verses back to God each day for about a week. When I started doing these things it helped me become strong again. “I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one”. ~ 1 John2:14 (NASB) 2.) Listen to some relaxing music- I would suggest listen to some music that warms your mind, body, and soul. Most people listens to music such as: Christian, jazz, R&B, and etc. Why not these words and melodies soothe away those anxious feelings you may have? 3.) Get Enough Adequate Sleep- This step was one of my biggest challenges for me because I wasn’t getting enough hours of sleep. I’m sure you can relate to this. I never understood how much anxiety may dissipate with adequate rest. When I started to sleep 7-8 hrs a day it made huge difference for me. As it states in the book of Job “When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise? But the night continues. And I am continually tossing until dawn”. ~ Job7:4 (NASB) and “when you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet”. ~ Proverbs3:24 (NASB) As a result, whenever I started to feel anxious I will get a good night’s sleep. 4.) Make time for Exercise and Recreation- This step helped me the most. The reason is because not only did it release the chemicals that helped me decrease my anxiety it changed my whole life. As a result, I’m 205 lbs. lighter than I was about 2.5 years ago my whole life began to improve. 5.) Living One Day at a Time- The best advice given for anxiety: Matthew 6:25-34 (NASB) I always have to remind myself to follow this advice and continue to work at living one day at a time, because I don’t know the future. No one does. I just stay focus on dealing with what has to be done today and try not to think about tomorrow. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 3 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Succes Part1 "Mind, Body, and Soul

Inspirational quote for today is: "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" ~ Romans 5:3-4. In this series of my blog I’m going to share with you how to overcome anxiety, fear, and stress to help your mind, body, and soul. Most importantly, this information will help you have peace with yourself and Christ. My first question I have for you is how well do you deal with anxiety? What I’m about to share with you are ways to deal with anxiety and overcome it. Oh by the way, these are from my own personal experiences dealing with anxiety. I came across something in the book of Luke ”The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity”. ~ Luke 8:14(NASB) when I read this scripture I started to realize these are three obstacles that choke individuals when they hear the word of God. Two out of the three most of us heard when we were growing up (the riches and pleasures of this life) and the third one is (care or anxieties). I believe this is true anxieties choke many people. You see all of us have some anxiety at times. Also, anxiety often accompanies depression. I believe this in an emotion which is characterized by feelings of uneasiness, tension, restlessness, and worry. Throughout, my own experience dealing with anxiety I implemented certain symptoms such as: headaches, high blood pressure, and “butterflies” in my stomach. I also learned that anxiety is not only the underlying cause of most psychiatric problems. It also can be the real underlying problem in people who think they have committed an unforgivable sin. In addition, both psychology and scriptures indicate that anxiety can be either normal or abnormal. Research also shows that individuals are more efficient and productive when they have some anxiety. I believe if the anxiety becomes intense, their efficiency will begin to decrease accordingly. You see the scriptures indicate that some anxiety seen in verses such as <b>Corithians1 12:25 “so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another”, 2 Corinthians 11: 28 “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches”, and Philippians 2:20 “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. (NASB) is healthy. However, the scriptures also indicate intense anxiety are seen in verses such as Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard , and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity, “ Philippians 4:6 “ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”, 1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you”.(NASB) is not healthy. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. This is the beginning of a journey that never ends. I will present Part 2 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.